After all the hype, enhanced RFID technology has not always delivered the tangible benefits widely thought possible. This has led many organisations to now reconsider deploying barcode technology, says Jörk Schuessler, European Marketing Manager for Citizen Systems Europe
Effective stock and materials management are an essential part of any business and have been revolutionised with the advent of RFID technology. This has brought significant benefits in terms of security, tracking, stock and data control. In many applications, however, RFID has not delivered the expected returns, leaving conventional barcode technologies to offer, either on its own or in conjunction with RFID a viable commercial and technical option.
Initial wave of optimism
Following a barrage of media attention, the high profile introduction of RFID technology came to the forefront of the Automatic Identification and Data Capture (Auto ID) market and generated considerable interest in many sectors of industry and commerce. Although the initial rate of implementation was far slower, partly due to the high entry costs for hardware, software and training, RFID systems are now growing in popularity, as costs fall and as the number of system developers and end users with detailed knowledge and practical experience increases.
Nevertheless, there is still a significant cost differential between the full implementation of RFID technology and conventional barcode based systems. The figures that are often quoted indicate that the cost of setting up an RFID network can make the outlay for applying each tag up to eight times greater than that required for a barcode label containing the same level of information.
Teething problems
Many of the companies that have embraced RFID as a new technology have failed to understand that it is not an ultimate panacea, and that it is merely one component of a business wide process, which needs to work with other systems to meet its full potential. RFID has to be compatible with the IT and management systems in each business, as well as with all the equipment used throughout the supply chain. This is another area where RFID has, to date, suffered as there is currently a lack of commonly agreed standards, while limited interoperability between different systems, such as the ability for a single reader to interrogate tags from multiple frequencies, has created a major issue especially on a global level.
Developments in technology
In the meantime, while not as sophisticated as RFID, barcode technology has still continued to thrive throughout industry, providing data management and accessibility simply and quickly, while creating the opportunity to control and reduce costs through efficient stock management and logistics. As a proven technology for many decades now, there is minimal inherent risk associated with its functionality or application, delivering levels of data accuracy at nearly 100 per cent (considerably higher than that from RFID tags), while a printed barcode itself provides greater security of visible information than an RFID tag.
At present, a traditional 1D barcode can hold as much data as an EPC RFID tag and, arguably, provides greater performance and functionality. Further still, the introduction of innovations, such as 2D matrix barcodes, including PDF417, QR Code and Datamatrix, has meant that barcodes can now hold many hundreds of characters of information over and above the capacity of the latest generation of EPC tags, allowing complex information to be recorded and read throughout the supply chain.
Similarly, a new generation of GS1 DataBar codes are expanding the potential of the system still further, offering sophisticated traceability and product specific labelling capabilities. These barcodes can hold more data in smaller spaces, making them ideal for small components as well as irregularly shaped items, using Global Trade Identification Numbers (GTIN) for variable data such as batch, expiration date, serial number, price, monetary value, size and weight.
Barcode and labelling systems are especially suited to packaging applications where traceability is crucial, allowing large amounts of complex information to be captured and read as products pass along the supply chain. This feature provides positive benefits in streamlining and automation, significantly reducing labour costs, human error and time spent checking products.
Combined technologies
As the period of economic uncertainty continues, the need for companies to streamline processes is ever greater in order to remain both profitable and competitive. The integration of both tried and tested barcode and new RFID technologies could be a way forward and provide an effective solution for production and manufacturing industries.
Utilising proven cost effective barcoding technology in areas, for example, such as stock and product management, and the emerging RFID tagging technology targeted specifically to where the read/write capabilities of these tags can provide tangible results. Implementing combined automated data analysis would also be less time consuming and not as costly to integrate, which could result in better inventory control and improved security as well as provide the information to help understand customer or supplier trends.
Citizen Systems Europe operates from locations throughout Europe covering the EMEA region. It offers a wide range of printers for industrial, retail, healthcare and mobile applications specialising in label, barcode, portable and point-of-sale printers. In each case, products are sold and supported by a network of specialised partners.
